SAIPAN
Saipan and the rest of the Marianas Islands were crucial launching points for B-29 bombers to strike at the mainland of Japan. The U.S. commanders decided to take Saipan first, as it was the largest island, and closest to Japan. Taking place on June 15th, 1944, Marines landed on the Southwest side of the island, into many gun emplacements that were missed in the pre-landing bombardment, suffering 2,000 casualties in the landing. They took the beach the first day and were reinforced by the Army for the push inland.
The main bulk of the Japanese Army had retreated to Mount Tapotchau, where they set up a heavily defended position. The U.S. forces were forced to fight a hard and lengthy battle to take the mountain. A contingent was sent along a long exposed valley, soon to be called "Death Valley" and "Purple Heart Ridge". After a hard fought battle, the U.S. troops pushed the Japanese into the Northern part of the island. The Japanese commander, expecting Naval support, ordered an all out Banzai charge of around 4,000 troops into the Americans, resulting in a few battalions being overrun before they were pushed back. The battle was won on July 6th, but this resulted in thousands of civilians killing themselves out of fear of the American stereotype the Japanese propaganda produced. The Japanese Prime Minister and his war cabinet were also forced to resign after this defeat.
The main bulk of the Japanese Army had retreated to Mount Tapotchau, where they set up a heavily defended position. The U.S. forces were forced to fight a hard and lengthy battle to take the mountain. A contingent was sent along a long exposed valley, soon to be called "Death Valley" and "Purple Heart Ridge". After a hard fought battle, the U.S. troops pushed the Japanese into the Northern part of the island. The Japanese commander, expecting Naval support, ordered an all out Banzai charge of around 4,000 troops into the Americans, resulting in a few battalions being overrun before they were pushed back. The battle was won on July 6th, but this resulted in thousands of civilians killing themselves out of fear of the American stereotype the Japanese propaganda produced. The Japanese Prime Minister and his war cabinet were also forced to resign after this defeat.